Modern History of Aegis

On the Wandering Wizard and other Topics

The earliest and most widely cited accounts from Aegis come from the personal writings of the Wandering Wizard. This being, thought by many to be one of the famed Aengul, had unparalleled skill in the arcane arts which he used to assist the Descendants, ranging from lifting a bucket from a broken well in Serpent’s Ridge or battling monstrous hordes sent by the Undead Necromancers. Availer, as he was known to the elves, was revered by all who stood in the light. His most famous tome, Chronicles of the Ancient History, starts out by describing the creation of the world, which the Creator formed from the Void so that it could become a theater, a testing ground of sorts for those He chose to create. The Creator, or God, as he has later been referred to, very closely resembles the Orenian Creator, and it can be assumed that they are the same being, notwithstanding slight doctrinal differences. Availer directly refers to the Creator by the name “the Merciful Creator of the Seven Skys.” There has long been much speculation over what this exactly means, what the seven skys are, and if they even exist. Some, such as the Mali’Aheral, dismiss it is the foolish writings of an old, addled man, who perhaps had some insignificant talents with magic. Some argue that the Descendants are blessed, or, some might say, cursed, to inhabit is the seven skys, while other argue it is merely another way to speak of the heavens and cosmos.

Chronicles describe the story of the first man and woman, who bore four sons, Malin, the eldest, and the familiar Krug, Horen, and Urguan. This is where skeptics begin to poke holes Wandering Wizard’s account, as the question, “Where did the wives for the four brother’s come from?” is begged. It’s quite frankly is impossible to find an adequate answer, but the overarching explanation holds the truth. According the Chronicles, the four descendent races came into being; the elves of Malinor as the eldest race, and the dwarves the youngest. According to the text, they lived in peace for centuries, until Iblees, one of Daemon, the counterpart to the holy Aengul, planted seeds of corruption in the hearts of the four brothers and their peoples, setting them up for ultimate betrayal. All but Krug succumbed to the seduction of this exiled Daemon, and all the Descendants would suffer for their choice. After a fierce and incredibly destructive thirty year battle with Krug and his brothers, Iblees was only defeated through divine intervention. After an Aengul and Daemon legion descended from the Seven Skys and defeated his hordes and bound him in the Void, Iblees cast terrible curses upon each of the legendary Brothers and their Descendants: to Malin, silent forests devoid of children, to Krug, incredible lust for the glory of battle and the blood of their foes, to Urguan, breathtaking greed and miserable short stature, and to Horen, that his children’s flames would be snuffed out in a blink of an eye. A great darkness descended over the land then, and there was tearing at hair and rending of garments. However, one of the Aengul soldiers stepped forward, and though unable to undo the great evil already done, he offered gifts: Long life and serenity to the Elves, Honor to the Orcs, great strength of mind and body to the Dwarves, and the vague promise of a chance to explore the Seven Skys to Humanity. Then, the army vanished.

The Great Collapse

The so called “Great Collapse” was heavily debated among Aegisian and Anthosians historians. The only known fragment directly referring to the Great Collapse is within dwarven records, and it says only that Emperor Thorngar Ironborn of the Khorvad Empire attempted to destroy all knowledge of the Kingdom of Urguan. The “fragment of Urguan” is brought together by the dwarven King, Simmpa, and they siege Kal’Urguan and Thorngar is killed in a duel with Simmpa. Beyond this fragment, there is overwhelming evidence that some type of cataclysmic event suddenly decimated all of the cultures of Aegis, destroying over a thousand years of records and histories. A great deal of valuable knowledge has been lost, too little preserved by the relatively meagre efforts by a handful of dedicated elves. Orcish mythology seems to have been passed down orally through war chants, sung on the eve of battle, but it is notably lacking in realistic accounts of the early days of the Descendants. The High Prince of Malinor and the Story of Laurelin makes vague references to a time called the “First Age,” referring to Laurelin as being founded by the remains of a small wood elven colony at the beginning of the Second Age, which appears to have started before 1300, though literally no records exist before 1301. This lends further evidence to the existence of this cataclysm, though, one must imagine it had some sort of effect on the memories of those that survived it, as none have ever been able to speak or write of what happened. Near the end of the Descendant’s time in Aegis, five scrolls, or more appropriately, fragments of scrolls, were discovered. They originated in the early days of the world, but they offered little new insight into those early days; indeed, if anything, they begged more questions than answers.

Malinor

The Holy Princedom of Malinor, along with the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, has the most thorough records of the early period of Aegis, and thus, the easiest to reconstruct with acceptable accuracy. High Prince Native and Prince Toren's accounts of the early days after the founding of Laurelin in the early 1300s or late 1200s are the oldest surviving records. Laurelin was founded in the trees, and it was the jewel of the Holy Princedom of Malinor. Some say that the souls of all Mali long to once again shelter under the graceful trees of Laurelin. From this position of power south of the Cloud Temple, the home of the monks, Native, by all accounts, ruled with a fair, kind, and skilled hand, promoting competent elves to assist him in governing. The first Council was made up of several notable elves, including Prince Toren the Farmer, Prince Talion the Merchant and Prince Flefal the Traitor. The original guard force of Malinor were the Sentinels, headed by Prince Flefal the Traitor. The druidic order resided in the deep reaches of Laurelin, and was always a center of mischief under the guidance of Wayward Druid Resperin. Some call this period the first Restoration of the Druids, but what they were restored from remains unclear. As their population swelled, the elves expanded from Laurelin first to the picturesque town of Ravenhold and then to the villages of Serpent's Ridge and Elvindale. Prince Mylas also constructed Malin’s Sister, later referred to as the Sister City, a suburb of Laurelin. High Prince Native and Prince Flefal took on expanding Laurelin itself, adding several districts to the original city. All of the elves, regardless of race, lived in relative harmony, at least compared to the heady days of racial conflict that would come with time. It would be a century before such cultural identities would begin to emerge. Prince Flefal, under the direction of High Prince Native, constructed a railway between Laurelin and Ravenhold. According to a multitude of personal accounts, High Prince Native commonly stood at a counter to help an ever increasingly long line of elves in finding both homes and employment. The completion of The Gauntlet is perhaps the most significant event of this era. Warriors and acrobats from all the realms flocked to Laurelin to try their hand at the perilous obstacle course, packing the coffers of the Holy Princedom of Malinor in the process. The elves prospered, blissfully unaware of the horrors to come.

Urguan

Meanwhile, King Simmpa has consolidated his control of the dwarven clans and they too expanded to new holds. He created a High Council to help him rule, but his reign was short, which set precedent for the dizzying amount of Kings that have taken the throne after his departure. Kal'Urguan grew large, and new cities such as Kal'Bryst and Kal'Alras were founded. The floating village of Kal'Rog sprung up, a bustling port for both elven and dwarven merchants, sailors and travellers. Peace did not last long in the halls of Urguan, and but for two years, none tested the might of the Dwarven Legion. In the second year of his reign, Simmpa fell ill, and he appointed Charles Grimlie as overseer. King Charles later took the throne and ruled with an iron first, crushing all dissent within the Kingdom of Urguan as it expanded. Hiebe founded the Dwarven Legion during King Charles’ reign, and the Dwarven Legion would grow to be one of the fiercest fighting forces in Aegis. Additionally, the sleepy merchant town of Kal’Alras is founded by Rasun Goldhand and others, though it would be several years before events came to a head there. Beyond this, the dwarves began to accumulate their considerable wealth, enough to match all the other nations of Aegis combined.

Oren

It is relatively well known that the first King of Oren, Daniel Horen, later known as Saint Dan, established the Mountain City, Al’Khazar, before 1300. His rule was fair if not incredibly successful, and Oren expanded out from the capital northwards. The Mages Guild, under Archmage Slayer, established their first tower on the outskirts of Al’Khazar, and Archmage Ambros was a great ally of Saint Daniel. It was in 1301 that his Senchesel and Lord of Winterfell, Pampo Perea, staged a coup in Al’Khazar and overthrew Saint Daniel, crowning himself King of all Oren, which consisted of the capital of Al’Khazar along with the towns of Alstion, Snowy Fields and Winterfell. Pampo Perea formed a Council around him that included Everard Hightower, among others. King Perea married the baker Dawn in 1302, and they had a son, Brett, who was born shortly before the first Orenian festival. Peace reigned throughout human lands during this early period as the Orenian Guard formed around leaders Lord Haelphon, a half elf, and Vardak. A Cathedral was constructed in central Al’Khazar, with Everard of the great Hightower line serving as its first Archbishop. To the south of Al’Khazar, another human town was founded, the desert oasis of Kramaroe, which sprung up from an inn on North Road. Among the many notable residents of this storied town was Delaselva the Seer.

Krugmar

The uruks of Krugmar established their capital of Sanjezel in the South, near the Cloud Temple of Aegis and the forests of Malinor. Other notable towns established under the first Rex, Tyther, were the great City of Sanhar and the Nomad Village. Shamanism began to take it’s roots during this period. The first crisis for the orcs was the reappearance of Or’ta, a monumental figure from the renowned Clan Wars. He launched devastating attacks on Sanhar, sacking it several times. He was eventually defeated by a warband lead by Craotor’Lur, but notably absent during these events was Tythus. Discontent began to spread among the orcs, especially Mogroka’Gorkil and Gorefang. Also to appear during this period was the ecoterrorist Uggg, who staged many protests against various construction projects that were destroying the natural beauty of Aegis.

Kal’Bryst

Why the Undead chose the North as the focus of their initial onslaught is a matter of specualtion, but regardless, the North bore the brunt of the attack. The first battle was at the now famous city of Kal’Bryst, a dwarven outpost in the North. Nothing could prepare the residents for the hell that would reign down on them that fateful night in 1301 when the relentless Undead hordes fell upon their helpless village. It was an unconditional slaughter of the residents, and by the time a call for aid was received by the peoples of Aegis, the city was being consumed by unnatural flame. Still, the Nations rode north, lead by the grey robed Wandering Wizard. The dwarven party was the first to arrive, and after a brief skirmish with the previously unknown enemy in which they suffered heavy casualties, they withdrew with whatever survivors they could find to the forward camp set up by Availer. As orcs, elves, humans and dwarves gathered for a counterattack, it became clear that this menace was like none other faced by the Descendants. Hordes of reanimated and decaying corpses milled about the city, falling upon any living thing. And pale skeletal archers kept sentry, ready to lose a flight of arrows at any that might challenge them. These horrors were small in comparison to the abominations found in the undead themselves; neither living nor dead, their kept their grotesque faces and bodies shrouded in hoods so that all that could be seen were two soulless eyes. The full extent of their dark magic and necromancy was not known at the time, but it would soon become startlingly clear that the Descendants stood little match.

A call went forward through the assembled armies that it was time for a counterattack. The largest army ever assembled charged forth under the command of the Wandering Wizard. Unspeakable spells and boiling firebolts exploded through their ranks as they clashed with the hordes of skeletons and zombies, and warriors of all races fell in droves. The armies clashed back and forth, neither gaining the advantage, until a giant stomped and hammered a path through the Descendant’s ranks, and the great army wavered, almost breaking. But then, High Prince Native of Malinor and his elven archers appeared, bringing the giant down with a single volley of arrows, turning the battle against the Undead Necromancers. The archmages of the Mages Guild cleared a path to the city, and the great army charged through, entering bitter street fighting against the necromancers and what was left of their horde. Towers exploded as the Undead threw every incantation they had against the Descendants, but it was all in vain as each Necromancer was cornered and cut down. The price of victory was high though, and Kal’Bryst had to be abandoned, for the Undead’s corruption was too much for any living being to tolerate. In the wake of the battle, still little was known of the Undead, but one name was on every tongue in Aegis: Iblees.

Interregnum

Celebrating their victory, the Descendants did not know that their respite would be brief, especially in the case of Oren. From the fortress of Unk, the Undead struck out through Oren’s Northern realms, burning the towns of Alstion and Winterfell, cutting a path of destruction south. Bodies rotted in the street as a darkness settled over the human lands, and the Prophet Rott arrived under the guise of the Novelist in the Mountain City, Al’Khazar. He spread chaos and distress through Oren, preparing it for swift Undead annexation.

In Malinor, the treachery of Prince Flefal, now known alternatively as Mayctor or simply The Traitor, became apparent. He had corrupted many of the Sentinels, and thus, a new guard force was created under Commander Blackthorn, the Wardens of Malinor. They prepared to march north to confront the Undead, but High Prince Native held them back, concerned that the Undead hordes would attack the lightly defended sacred forests of Malinor. Also in the South, the orcs and dwarves fought a short war for unknown reasons now known as the Caravan War. There were several battles in orcish lands, most ending in the orcs rebuffing dwarven war parties. The war ended inconclusively, with neither side making any land gains. King Charles Grimlie, driven mad by the corruption of the undead, then waged an insane war against Oren. Discontent and unrest spread throughout Urguan, with the Grandaxe clan rending in two while Kal’Alras declared it’s independence. King Charles Grimlie was forced to resign by his council, and King Belin “The Industrious” was crowned.

It was during this brief respite that the the Ascended lead by the Sages, revealed themselves to the Descendants. They were of all races and had been chosen by the Aengul Aeriel to the fight Iblees and his Undead generals. They established both the United Aegis Coalition, which was an alliance of all the nations and guilds in Aegis, along with the city of Haven, far to the West of Urguan.

Pampo and Edmund

As Undead forces marshalled on Oren’s northern border, a call for aid was sent South, to the armies of the Elves, Dwarves, and Uruks. The Wardens of Malinor set but before aid could arrive, an assault was launched on on Al’Khazar in the year 1304. In the initial hours of the battle, the Undead Overlord was struck down, but rose again even more powerful through the use of Iblees’ dark magics. The Orenian guard was slowly pushed back to the palace while the Undead Necromancers destroyed the city around them. The palace was bombarded for hours as the guard, commanded by King Perea personally, fought a fierce defense in the ruins. This bought precious time for the civilian population to evacuate, but just as the armies from the South were to arrive, the undead broke through the Orenian lines. The Seven Skys screamed as the Overlord and King Pampo Perea clashed in the throne room, and they wept when King Perea was cut down, his life snuffed out by the undead’s dark power. As the armies of Oren wailed at the loss of their King, a flash of brilliant light shattered the darkness as the Wandering Wizard engaged the Prophet and the Overseer. Aegis shook violently as their deadly duel raged, and as the palace crumbled, Availer obliterated both the necromancers. The victory was temporary, as the Prophet and Overlord would rise from the Nether again, but it bought needed time for humanity to rebuild Al’Khazar and crown their new King, Edmund Sheffield.

Alstion and Snowy Fields

The people of Oren rallied to their King, and set their eyes North, to rebuild Winterfell and Alstion and fortify the town of Snowy Field. As Oren reorganized internally and Edmund Sheffield married his Queen, Ivrae, the Undead launched new assaults from the North. The battle for Snowy Fields was both long and fierce, but it finally fell in 1308. The Undead used the keep as their staging ground for their decade long siege of Alstion. The armies of Anthos sent reinforcements north to hold Alstion at all costs, and the costs were dear. Archmage Freya commanded the defenders in many of their sallies against the Undead in Snowy Fields, of which there were dozens of skirmishes that set the Undead back considerably. Finally, enough forces were concentrated in Alstion that an expeditionary force went North to discover the origin of the Undead assaults, and the obsidian fortress of Unk was discovered. It was besieged several times before the Sages arrived to finally breach the walls after an inexplicable incident involving cake. Alstion, however, would fall soon after in 1314. It was wiped off the face of Aegis by a blizzard created by the darkest of magics. With it’s fall, the Undead were no longer hemmed in the North, and struck out towards what they believed was the undefended South. Many of the former residents of Alstion and Snowyfield established the small but well defended town of Talun far to the northeast of Al’Khazar, but it was never attacked by the Undead.

The South

In the South, life continued much as before the Undead invasion. High Prince Native married Sorrius at the Sister City, and Princesses Indelwehn and Mylas ascended to the High Council. The Wardens grew in strength, expanding and fortifying their base outside of Laurelin as well as Laurelin and Ravenhold’s defenses. However, as the elves prospered, discontent reigned among the orcs as an uprising against Rex Tythus began. It was lead by Gorefang and Mogroka’Gorkil who besieged Sanjezel to attempt to dethrone Tythus. However, before the battle was even won, Gorefang and Mogroka would klomp to decide who would challenge Tythus for Rex, and though the bout of fists and tooth lasted for four days, neither emerged the victor, as both collapsed in exhaustion. Then, as the two sides began to prepare for a civil war, the Wandering Wizard appeared, and in an appeal to the orcs, asked that they form a government together. Thus, it was decided that both would rule Krugmar as Warlords. They then marched into Sanjezel and challenged Rex Tythus together, and with his death, the revolt came to an end. Gorefang would later depart for parts unknown, leaving Mogroka to become the sole Rex of Krugmar.

After the Wardens of Malinor and Krughai of Krugmar returned to the South from Al’Khazar, it became apparent that a new Undead outpost had been established by Wrath. Wrath was running a slave operation out of the bastion, named Wrath’s Clutch, and numerous men and women were captured and tortured there. It was located just South of Alras, but the Alrasians refused to do much of anything to dislodge Wrath and his gang. Numerous attempts were made to destroy the fortress by Malinor, Urguan, and Krugmar, to no avail, but the elves and orcs were soon distracted by an all out Undead assault on the Orcish capital of Sanjezel in the year 1316.

As the Undead hordes neared the great wall protecting Sanjezel, the orcs dug in, preparing for a siege. The Undead Necromancers appeared at the front of their army and began launching gigantic fireballs at the wall, which crashed against the sandstone, mud and brick. After a sustained barrage, gaps began appearing, and zombies flooded into the opening and skeletons sniped at the orcish defenders. Before the battle could turn against the orcs, however, a great cry was heard from the West as the armies of Malinor rushed out of the forest, Princess Indelwehn and High Princess Soriuss at their head. Cries of “The elves are coming!” rang through the humans that were fighting with the orcs, and as the elven warriors took their positions in the wall, Mogroka and Princess Indelwehn met to plan the counterattack. The Wardens and other elves set up a firing line along the openings in the orcish wall as the orcs and others, aided by the Ascended, charged forward to meet the Undead. The battle raged for an hour until the elves’ quivers were depleted, and as one they rushed forward, blades gleaming from the fires that raged through the orcish desert. With the elven reinforcements, the orcs overwhelmed the Undead, and the Battle of Sanjezel was won. The great victory solidified the friendship between the orcs and elves, and the alliance between Malinor and Krugmar, the Malin-Krug Pact, was formed following the battle.

The Verge

The Verge was a realm that the Descendants entered in 1320. It was a strange and nearly inhospitable place, overrun with spiders and slimes. Alrasian, Orenian, and Dwarven adventurers banded together in Tazarak, a small refuge from the chaos that reigned in Verge. The elves established two settlements, and the orcs, one, but the Verge was such an awful place that eventually even Tazarak became a ghost town as the residents woul rather face Undead assaults over constant siege by slimes.

Betrayals

Adding fuel to speculation of Undead scheming, it was revealed that the Tazarak Alliance’s leaders were in league with the Undead, with both King Algrim of Urguan, who had been crowned after King Belin’s death, and King Edmund Sheffield of Oren being revealed as Undead, along with King Syrio of Alras widely known as having trading ties with the denizens of the Nether. A mob hunted down King Algrim in 1323 after his oaths to Iblees were overheard by an elf, and he was captured during the human and orc skirmish in the ruins of Kramaroe. After the short reign of King Gotrek, a War Council of sage dwarves is set up to rule the nation in the stead of a King.

King Edmund’s betrayal, in 1321, however, was a particularly hard blow for the Descendants, as after he was accused of treachery, he transformed into an Undead and ate his wife Ivrae in front of many Orenians. He escaped with his son, Enor, in tow. Oren then descended into chaos. Two major factions emerged; one to crown Dawn Perea, owner of the famous Dawn’s Bakeries and widow of King Pampo Perea, and the other to crown Saint Daniel, who had returned from his travels. Neither would seize the throne, however, as Prince Enor returned from the Nether seemingly unharmed, and was placed upon the throne. Relative peace returned to the Orenian realms, but discontent and plans of rebellion boiled beneath the surface as the people chafed under King Enor’s reign,

Included by some in the list of betrayals is that of the Sages of Aeriel, who departed Aegis and abandoned the Descendants to their fate at the hands of Iblees in 1322. They took with them the city of Haven in the West and the fortress of Aeriel in the North.

Wrath’s Clutch and Fort Fairleaf

After the Dwarves and Elves collaborated in the destruction of an Undead Keep in construction South of Laurelin, they decided to finally do something about Wrath’s Clutch. Both the Wardens and Legion build fortresses outside of the Clutch, and besieged the fortress. It fell after a large assault involving the efforts of both armies; the elves with their bows and the dwarves with their war-axes. With the slaver and necromancer Wrath finally vanquished from the South, some elves began celebrating and boasting of how they had singlehandedly defeated Wrath. The Dwarves took offense at this, and the Legion decided to besiege for Fairleaf, the elven fortress outside the Clutch, and demanded it be torn down. It nearly came to blows, as Prince Quazar the Wardens desired war with the dwarves, but a message from Native carried by Princess Indelwehn arrived ordering the Wardens back to Malinor. They complied, and the dwarves tore down Fort Fairleaf. The incident left bitter tastes in both nation’s mouths, and threw cold water on their warming relationship. It was during this crisis that Lirinya, owner of the Treetop inn, was raised to the High Council to replace Princess Ariana.

The Fall of Kramaroe

The Undead, infuriated by their loss at Sanjezel, struck out at the relatively undefended town of Kramaroe in 1323. It burned quickly, though the Undead did not claim the town as their own. Instead, after a brief infestation by bandits in which the once proud town became known as Sunspear, it was claimed by both Oren and Krugmar. After a drawn out battle between the Orenian Guard and a few orcs, the humans claimed victory, and began transforming the town into the feudal holding of Galahar, which would provide grain and other crops to a nearly surrounded Al’Khazar, as well as securing the route to the Whispering Isles, another Orenian settlement ruled by Brett Perea, the orphaned son of Pampo Perea. The Whispering Isles was also the home of the Holmes Detective Agency, a guild which was dedicated to solving crimes throughout Aegis, as well as the original branch of the Orenian Orthodox church.

The Great War

The Great War began with a series of skirmishes between the Orcs and Dwarves outside of Sanjezel. After witnessing these skirmished, Grand Councillor Valen Grandaxe prepares the Legion for war. The Wardens of Malinor aid their orcish allies, and a secret human-dwarven alliance is revealed when Oren begins to aid Urguan. Rex Mogroka’Gorkil of Krugmar and Prince Mylas of the Holy Princedom of Malinor, accompanied by Hochmeister Gaius Marius, marched on the capital of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, Kal’Urguan, in 1336. Gaius Marius and his Teutonic Order had made a name for themselves in recent years by attacking the minor guilds of Aegis, destroying their fortresses and assimilating many of their members, and they grew to the size of a small nation, based out of the heavily fortified city of Nuremberg. Gaius saw Oren as corrupt, and was determined to see it in new hands. It is suspected by many that it was all under the machinations of the Undead, in a very successful attempt to distract and weaken the Descendants in order to disrupt their response to a major assault. The Great War had many small battles, and Gaius Marius and his Teutonic Order, aided at times by Blackaxe Dwarves, the Wardens of Malinor, and the Krughai of Krugmar, attacked Al’Khazar on five separate occasions attempting to bring about political change. Though at least two of these attacks succeeded in defeating the Orenian Guard, none of the victories were substantial enough to unseat King Edmund. The most noteworthy of the assaults involved the Teutons entering Al’Khazar through the sewer system and the entrance in the basement of the Therving Tavern in addition to the assault where Gaius and the Teutons stole robes from the Temple Monks and used those disguises to infiltrate Oren and corner King Edmund Sheffield.

The Defeat of the Wandering Wizard(1336)

Few remarked upon the Wandering Wizard’s protracted absences, but the Descendants took notice when he sent out a call for aid in transporting three artifacts to the Cloud Temple. The Undead launched wave after vicious wave against him and the armies that had heard his call, and in the end, it was too much in the open ground, and the Wandering Wizard and his defenders fell, the armies scattered throughout the land. Panic began to set in for many when it was revealed the artifacts that were stolen by the Undead were in fact drake eggs, and that Iblees would be able to use his dark magics in the Nether to corrupt and shape the drakes.

Changes in Malinor

It started rather subtly. First, warden recruits were withdrawn from Laurelin's gatehouse. Then, druidic officials were found murdered, which lead to a cycle of killings in Malinor which the Wardens refused to investigate. Ebs and Sythra, a new arrival in Laurelin, investigated further, and found connections to Prince Quazar, who became Commander of the Wardens after Blackthorne’s disappearance. The pair went to Indelwehn, and she went to Native and the High Council. The night before the discovered coup, after an assassination attempt by the Wardens, High Prince Native disbanded the Wardens. Sythra was appointed to head the new guard, the Vanguard, which would be permanently based in Laurelin. The Bearded Elf then announced that he was departing Malinor, stepping down from High Prince. Many elves present were overcome with grief and sorrow. The High Princes final act as High Prince of the Holy Princedom of Malinor was to appoint Ebs as Prince of Malinor.

Immediately, the first election for High Prince in memory was called. Princes Lafthi, Toren, and Ebs with Princesses Indelwehn and Lirinya convened in secret in Lafthi's treetop home in downtown Laurelin. After two rounds of voting, Indelwehn was elected High Princess of Malinor. A new age was dawning on Malinor, and none could have possibly realized that the undiscovered taint that lay hidden in the new High Princess would influence the course of the nation.

The Fall of Al’Khazar and Retreat from the North(1337)

Historians agree that Al’Khazar was turning point in the war with the Undead, and that it marked the beginning of the end of the nations of Aegis. As Enor’s grip on the throne loosened and open talk of rebellion became common, but before the flame of revolt was lit, the Undead launched an all out assault comprised of over twenty Necromancers on the human capital. It was simply too much for the Orenians to hold back, and before aid could arrive, the battle was over. The once great city of Al’Khazar was utterly decimated and poisoned by the Undead’s latest weapon, miasma. The people of Oren scattered, some heading North to the fortified town of Winterfell, ruled by Ser Robin Drake, while other scattered South to Galahar and the Whispering Isles. The Whispering Isles would later sink beneath the waves, but the center of Orenian culture solidified in Galahar, which quickly underwent considerable fortification. King Enor disappeared during the confusion following Al’Khazar’s fall, and Hawk Whitestorm reconstituted the Orenian government.

Initially, there was a token effort by Oren to hold its remaining northern territories, but when it became clear there was not even a usable road to Winterfell, the situation deteriorated quickly. Crimson Vale, New Alstion, Talun, and finally Winterfell were all destroyed by the Undead in a matter of days as what few people remained in the North retreated southwards.

Phoenix Rebellion

It is little known that the Phoenix Rebellion(sometimes referred to as the Phoenix Revolution) began as a plot to blow up the Al’Khazar sewers in order incapacitate the Orenian Guard and overthrow Enor. This plan was scrapped following the destruction of Al’Khazar at the hands of the Undead, but revolutionary sentiment continued to stir. When King Enor returned to Aegis after a year of captivity in the Nether, he attempted to dissolve the Council that was governing the remaining fragments of Oren. This lead to fierce accusations of Undead corruption and of Enor’s past mistakes and misrule, especially the collapse of Al’Khazar’s defences in a matter of hours. The Phoenix Rebellion established itself as the primary opposition to Enor, and attracted many of the former members of the Ruling Council, including Eze’kiel Tarus, Zibaen Vivyaen and Throdo Therving. The rebels set their goals at their outpost on the White Road: to dethrone Enor but to preserve the Kingdom of Oren. King Enor, realizing his position as rule was untenable, decided that he had to step down, but his decision to appoint the Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order, Gaius Marius, as King in his place roiled the people of Oren, as they recalled the Sariants’ numerous raids on Al’Khazar. There was also intense opposition to what was seen as the tyrannical military rule present in Sariant lands. The revolutionaries, lead by Eze’kiel Tarus, seized the city of Galahar and refused to acknowledge the Hochmeister as King. Gaius Marius, as a compromise, decided to let the issue of who would be King of Oren lie and formed a dual-monarchy between the newly created Kingdoms of Hanseti(Centered on Konigsberg) and Renatus(centered on Renatus), with Eze’kiel Tarus crowned as the first King of Renatus. Gaius Marius, the Greatest of the Hochmeisters of the Tuetonic Order, would soon fade from the First Sky and be replaced by his Ordenmarchalle, Sam. Also, Enor Sheffield and Dawn Perea decided to strike out on their own and formed the fledgling Kingdom of Salvus on an Island in the West, but the Salvian sun would rise under a different sky.

Queen Cassandra, Alras, and the South

For the period immediately following the fall of Al’Khazar, Queen Cassandra emerged as the chief Undead agent. She launched daring raids on Sanjezel and Laurelin, and started a forest fire that nearly destroyed Malinor. After she was defeated and beheaded following a battle at Galahar, the Undead appeared to draw back for a time, and there was discussion of an offensive to retake Al’Khazar. An attempt to remove the miasma and corrupting Cassandra had spread through central Laurelin, near the Gauntlet, by the Druids and Mages Guild ended in a nether portal appearing in the center of the ruins. It would remain to be seen what role this portal would play.

However, before long, the Undead launched a massive offensive on the City of Alras. The ensuing battle lasted for weeks as the Descendants rallied to defend the city and fought street by street. The gates were breached following a fierce clash on the frozen It was a hopeless effort, and as the boulevards of the inner districts were overrun, an effort to evacuate the remaining Alrasians to Malinor was conducted by elven forces as the remaining forces were trapped inside the cathedral, and though they prepared to make a last valiant stand, they were quickly overwhelmed by the Undead hordes ones their sanctuary was breached.

The fall of Alras brought about a feeling of desperation among the remaining Descendants, as their power to resist the Undead dwindled as the Undead’s own power grew. Princess Lirinya of Malinor was soon corrupted by the Undead, and launched an offensive from the South, first burning Ravenhold and Elvendale, destroying both. She then launched an attack on Laurelin which was beaten back, but not before corrupting the city center. It became apparent that Lirinya was being assisted by a member of the elven government. There were efforts to investigate who was influencing events, but following High Princess Indelwehn’s betrayal of Krugmar, when it was discovered that the High Princess has been tainted by the undead during her captivity at Wrath’s Clutch. However, Indelwehn attempted to assassinate Prince Ebs, who was driven underground. She was eventually removed by Princess Sythra, Prince Toren, and High Prince Haelphon, who along with Prince Ebs and Prince Quazar, elected Haelphon, a half elf, High Prince of Malinor. He would remain High Prince during the final days as the elves of Malinor withdrew into Laurelin and fortified the city for the coming onslaught.

The Final Struggle

Shortly after the Undead attacked and decimated the Dwarven capital of Kal’Urguan, Native, the former High Prince of Malinor, returned from his travels to rally the few that could still fight to come forward as champions to venture into the Nether to defeat the Undead. It was obvious the the Descendants were losing the war, badly, and that merely defending the shrinking patches of Aegis that were still habitable was no longer a viable strategy. Champions were chosen, and as they ventured into the Nether, those remaining behind prepared for the worst. The Champions fought against bitter Undead resistance, but they eventually broke through and retrieved the Axe of Krug, which was then cast into the void in an attempt to destroy the Undead once and for all. And, it appeared for a moment that the Champions had succeeded, as the Nether began to crumble around them. However, as the survivors emerged from the portal in Laurelin, Iblees’ drakes swept in from the North, burning Galahar and Sanjezel before any could react.

Flight From Aegis

The appearance of the drakes and Iblees’ survival of the destruction of the Undead was simply too much for the Descendants. A full rout towards the Verge portal began, and those already in the Verge prepared to make for calmer shores aboard great ships that had been constructed for such a purpose. The collected knowledge of the elven people was lost when the Great Library within the Mother Tree was incinerated with the rest of Laurelin. Hundreds perished as drakes continued to destroy everything the Descendants had built, and finally the Cloud Temple fell, collapsing in on itself. As the last survivors fled, Aegis was left a broken and diseased land. Years later, it would become apparent that the Descendants lost more than just their homes that fateful day.